FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

JOIN THE WAIT LIST FOR MY REVAMPED COURSE INTERIOR DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

WHY MORE DESIGNERS AREN’T TALKING ABOUT CONSTRUCTION

WHY THE ‘LEARN AS YOU GO’ APPROACH CAN LEAD TO COSTLY MISTAKES

WHY THERE ISN’T A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL MANUAL FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

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What does it mean to be managing construction projects as an interior designer? I know this is a broad topic, but it is also an incredibly unique role and I think that some of the frustrations we run up against is that not everybody sees that as a common role for us, although in our industry, it’s very common. 

Construction projects are hard. They’re long. They are laborious at times. They are extremely complicated, intricate, process, schedule, and budget-driven projects. Much more so than decorating projects, in my humble opinion. 

That’s not to take away from our decorating projects. It’s just that every construction project has its own set of nuanced issues, high’s and low’s that are unique to that one specific project. 

Why aren’t more designers talking about construction?

I don’t know why more designers aren’t talking about this, and I would definitely welcome more voices on this topic. But what I do know, from talking to so many of you over the years, since this podcast got started, is how overwhelmed you feel more often than not on construction projects. And that is what I can help with. 

I understand you feel like you’re expected to act as the go-between for clients, contractors, and trades while also ensuring that the designed vision you created is upheld. 

Unlike decorating, where changes can be made with fairly minimal disruption, construction demands precise planning and execution from the very beginning. There are layers of permitting, scheduling, managing the trades, and staying ahead of all the potential problems, which can quickly feel like an avalanche of responsibilities. 

I have been at the bottom of an avalanche more times than I care to remember. 

But like I have shared before, I was blessed to have attended the New York School of Interior Design and gotten a very sound entry-level education in construction, and I was hooked from the beginning.

I sought out design firms that did construction along with decorating, and I learned from some of the finest designers in this country and I absorbed everything I could for as long as they would share. These women were absolutely open books, wanting to lift up the designers in their firms.

I will not grow my firm any larger than it is right now, which means I don’t have anyone in person. I have developed a virtual team to allow me to say that with a pretty high degree of certainty. But for right now I’m good, and so I don’t have the ability to pass on the information that was given to me, so this podcast is that vehicle. I do not take this lightly, and I want each and every one of you to have the skills that you need to succeed in your projects, just like I was given so early in my career. 

Why the ‘I’ll figure it out’ mentality may not be the way to go in construction management

As designers, we have that ‘I’ll figure it out’ mentality. But in construction, learning as you go can lead to expensive mistakes. If you miscommunicate your scope, if you’re missing any key details in an estimate, or more often than not, you’re not understanding the full implications of a client’s request that can result in costly change orders, delays, or worse of all, profit loss for you. 

So that is an area where I see designers get caught up, and before they know it, they are finding themselves absorbing extra costs, sometimes large costs, just to keep that project moving forward. I understand the urge and rationale you’re telling yourself as to why you do it, but it isn’t a sustainable business model if it doesn’t get corrected. 

The mistake of converting your fee structure from your decorating projects into construction management projects

You think you’re going to be managing certain things, whether it’s furniture and furnishings and schedules with painters and wallpaperers and rug installers, and so you think, ok, I’m just going to translate that into the construction side. That could be either hourly or a flat fee. 

Here’s the problem – the decorating side of our business does not take into consideration, not even scratch the surface, the complexity of a construction project. 

Unlike furniture, where markups are straightforward, construction requires factoring in so much more:

Oversight

Sight visits

Problem-solving

Meetings with contractors

Unexpected challenges

And the complexity of the clients themselves

I hear time and time again from designers who are telling me they are working incredibly long hours for little to usually no return. Without proper pricing strategies, you’re stuck feeling overwhelmed, overextended, and incredibly undervalued. 

What I see happening is that they blame the project. They blame the client. They blame the contractor. They blame the supply chain. What I am here to tell you is that it’s probably all of the above, but it’s also going to include you, the designer. 

You are likely way underestimating the amount of time needed to properly manage a construction project. 

Because of the complexities and nuances of every single project and how different they are, I am very fearful of designers who are using calculators or even square footage fees to develop their pricing structure for their construction projects. 

Ultimately, what is happening is that designers are either giving up construction because they don’t see it as a profitable and happy way to work, or worse they continue on the way they are thinking they will figure it out.  They will tweak one thing here, or one thing there, or worse, they just consider it a loss and try to make up for it in other areas of the project. I am here to say that it doesn’t have to be that way.

But I am also here to break the myth that there is a one-size-fits-all manual on how to navigate these projects. Because there isn’t – just like there isn’t a pricing calculator that I have seen that’s successful for construction projects. 

Unlike architects and builders who have well defined roles and networks upon networks of support, we designers are often left to fend for ourselves on job sites. And that is incredibly frustrating and isolating.

I have tried to give as much as I can to anyone who reaches out to me. Real-time guidance, pricing feedback, and direct help navigating designer’s construction projects is what I’ve been leaning in on for years and what has motivated me to build the course, which has evolved many times over the last couple of years based on the needs that I heard from designers like you, and is continuing to evolve. I am hoping the re-vamped course will be ready by May of this year. So get on the waitlist here to get priority notification and early access.